Danél Esterhuysen
Central to the rich African culture of music and dance, and intricately linked to a variety of legends and symbols, are the drums.
An example is the famous Venda snake dance, the Domba where drums are always played by women and girls with girls and boys dancing to the beat with snake like fluidity while forming a chain by holding the forearm of the person in front. The Domba is historically a ritual for pre-marital initiation, but has since grown into one of Africa’s most recognised dances often performed at various events to emphasise the richness of culture. Historically the chief or sovereign will ‘call’ a domba upon which families start to prepare their girls for the ritual where a wife will be chosen.
Traditional dance in Africa occurs collectively, expressing the life of the community more than that of individuals or couples. Dances are often segregated by gender, reinforcing gender roles in children. Community structures such as kinship, age and status are also often reinforced.
The character of dancing observed by travellers to West Africa in the 1800s depended on context, the people, and the gender of the dancers. In general men used large body movements, including jumping and leaping. Women danced smaller movements with much use of ‘shuffle steps’, the body in a bent position with ‘crooked knees’. The circle dance predominated everywhere, sometimes with solo dancers or musicians in the middle, sometimes couples. The ecstatic seizure was an essential element of ceremonial dancing, both religious and secular.